Alan’s Stream of Consciousness

Thursday, December 5, 2013

In case you haven't seen Ron on the local Bismark, South Dakota news, doing play by play for the Canadian Olympic curling trials, or on one of many sports talk radio shows and other Internet shows, here is your chance to see him review the top searches of 2013 according to Yahoo.

Classic Burgundy!

He was scheduled to host a real episode of ESPN's Sports Center on 12/5, but that has been postponed. I am sure that will be rescheduled soon.

Oh, in case you haven't figured it out, he is doing a hell of a job promoting his movie "Anchor Man 2" that comes out in December of 2013. I can't wait for it!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Dexter Weaver has announced his intention to close Weaver D’s –
the Athens soul food mainstay that he opened in 1986 and has since
become a strand of that city’s DNA. He expects to close the restaurant
sometime in late November. I have eaten there several time in my life and it was by far the best soul food I have ever had! Athens won't be the same without Weaver D's!

Weaver’s trademark expression, “Automatic for the People,” was
memorably appropriated by Athens-based band R.E.M. for its classic rock
album.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

I am a big fan of the the British folk/rock band Mumford and Sons and I really love the music they put out and the videos that go along with the songs. They have just released they new video and it is great! Even though the guys look a little different from the last time I saw them perform. Check out the video for yourself and see what you think.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Sorry that I have been slacking on the posts! It has been a really busy spring with work, school and travels so I haven't had time to make updates to the blog. Soon I will make posts on all or some of the following topics:

Spring Break
Disney Cruise
Henry losing teeth
Kids soccer season
The Hangout Festival
End of the school year
Kids Swim team

There are some other topics that I probably won't make posts about since the timing has come an gone like Georgia's spring practice, The Players Championship, the Tiger vs. Sergio feud (that might come back up after Sergio's dumb comments on 5/21!), The faltering arms of the Braves pitching staff, Beckham's retirement and other topics that I have missed.

Again, I apologize about being missing in action, I hope to get back in to the habit of posting regularly soon!

Friday, March 29, 2013

My boys have been taking karate for over a year now and it has made a world of difference in their behavior. They were good boys before karate but now they are not only better behaved, but they are more confident, more respectful, and more disciplined. Not only is karate a good outlet for them to burn some energy, but it also teaches them the importance of stretching, practice, and respect for others.

For a while they were going twice a week, now since they are both into soccer, they are only going once a week. So they haven’t been able to advance as quickly as they would like but they are still working hard to move up with their skill level. They started out as white belts and spent the necessary time as beginners to reach their orange belts. At that level, they had to practice more and really focus on their technique. They had put in their time at the orange belt level and now it was time to test for the next color belt, the gold belt.

We thought they had a few more classes as orange belts but at class yesterday they were told they were going to test for their gold belts. Meg and I were both at work when their nanny sent us the news. This is a big deal for our boys and we both promised we would be there for their test. So with this news, Meg and I both dropped what we were doing and speed to the dojo. Since this was the first formal test to move up, we weren’t sure what to expect. Well, we learned that we didn’t need to be there for the class or even the next class as they do the testing at the end of the day after all of the other classes. This would have been good to know since I speed from my office weaving in and out of traffic like a mad man on 285 trying to make it in time. Anyway, let’s just say both Meg and I were both there in plenty of time!

The testing process is two parts; the first is like an interview with the head instructor and the second part is a physical test of karate moves and form. For the interview, the kids go into an office and present the instructor a report of how they behave in school, how their grades are as well as how they behave at home. They answer questions on how much time they spend on their schoolwork, their chores at home and practicing their karate. Again, since this was our first real test, this was new to all of us! I think next test we will be better prepared.
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Henry during his interview with Mr. Victor

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Mac during his interview with Mr. Victor

Waiting after their interviews for the physical test

They do not allow cameras during the testing as to not distract the kids, but let me tell you, it was pretty intense. There were about 12 kids testing for different levels including one kid that was moving from a blue belt to a red, which is the first level of the expert belts. A majority of the hour was spent with this kid and let me tell you, I was very impressed by this guy. He was probably 12 or 13 years old and he had his technique and moves down!

On to my guys, they were both nervous but once it was their time to test (along with the other orange belts) they did a great job! Mac was solid and didn’t miss a step. Henry also did great but on the last rep of each sequence he would seem to fall off some, as did most of the other kids. For that reason I was nervous that Mac might advance while Henry was going to need another few classes at the orange belt level. But that didn’t happen; they both were advanced on to get their gold belts. Meg and I are very proud of our guys and they are proud of themselves. That was a pretty intense process for an 8 and 5 year but they both did excellent jobs and I hope they continue to stay enthusiastic about karate.

Here they are after the extensive test with their two instructors, Mr. Victor and Mr. Isaiah

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

One of my first favorite rock bands was Driving n Cryin. I have seen them many, many, many times since I was a teen and continue to see them when ever they play in the Atlanta area. At one point they were destined for stardom and event though they are pretty well known, they never hit the level of fame that most other bands from Athens/Atlanta did in the late 80's/90's and I never understood why. They played good rock and folk songs that seemed to touch most everyone in one way or another. They are still playing today and still putting out solid records, but I still can't explain why they never seem to make it to the top of he music game?

Now there is a documentary out about the band and I am hoping it will explain why the band has had some tough times. The film was the idea of "Regular Guys" personality Eric Von Haesslerand will be shown at the Atlanta Film Festivalon March 24th. You can see the official trailer below. Be warned, there is some rough language and it is not suitable for children!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Harlem Shake videos have swept the Internet in the past few weeks, and are set to the tune of Baauer's Harlem Shake from the 1980's.Now the UGA Men's Swim and Dive team have taken on the challenge and created their own video, now it has gone viral. They have been all over the morning shows and the local shows in Georgia. In case you haven't seen it yet, check it out below.

The
swim team's version was shot underwater and had more than 2 million views as of
Wednesday night.

So
the Bulldogs of the gridiron tried their best to pull out all the stops —
theirs includes a Winnie the Pooh costume, as well as Tigger, Hairy Dawg on a moped
and several other odd costumes! Check out their version below.

Both are pretty crazy! I don't get it, but then again, I am getting old!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

I
can’t think of any other place I would have rather been this week than down in
Punta Cana, Domincan Republic!Widespread Panic just finished a 4 night
run down at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.This is the second time that Panic has gone to a tropical local to play
a series of shows and it is the second time I have missed it!It is torture to me to know they were playing
these killer shows on the beach in a tropical location and I am not there!

I
have been listening to the live stream and they have been blowing up the beach
with some great sets of music.Being
able to listen live is cool, but not nearly as cool as being there.They are playing a lot of fan favorites and
several seldom heard songs including “Coconut”.What a treat!Oh well, maybe I
will make it to Panic en la Playa Tres!

Here
are some photos from the first show, looks like they are “having a good time!”

The boys on stage!

The lucky crowd on the beach under the moonlight!

View of the stage from the sand.

If you want to hear any of these shows or check out the set list, go to panicstream.net

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Yeah, the headline is correct and yes it is the Hanson that you are thinking of!

Gov’t Mule is currently in Jamaica for their Jamaica Island Exodus IV event. Warren Haynes arrived in Negirl a few days early to
prepare for the destination event and none other than Hanson happened to
be hosting their own Back To The Island Concert Event at the Breezes
Grand Resort. Haynes checked out their performance and, on Monday night,
sat in with Hanson for his signature song,
“Soulshine.” In case you aren't familar with the band Hanson, they are three brothers (Isaac, Taylor and Zac) who are best known for their pop hits "MMMBop" and "This time around".

When you think of Hanson you don't really think of jam music or solid rock and roll, but they have evolved into this type of band. Apparently Hanson regularly
cover “Soulshine and the former teen pop band has shared the stage with a
mix of artists from the jamband world over the years, ranging from Bob
Weir to Tea Leaf Green. I don't suspect you will see them on stage with Widespread Panic or the Disco Biscuts, but you never know! Here is a clip of Warren Haynes with the boys rocking it down in Jamaica. It sounds really good! Too bad the video is not the best.

Monday, January 7, 2013

On Sunday night, through a tweet, UGA QB Aaron Murray announced he was
coming back to Athens for his senior year.Here is the tweet he sent out to his 64,000 + twitter followers:

Georgia coach Mark Richt reacted to Murray’s decision in a statement Monday
morning: “I’m certainly pleased that after weighing his options Aaron has
decided to remain at Georgia for his senior year. His leadership and
productivity have been tremendous during what has been an outstanding career.
This is great for Aaron and great for Georgia.”

This is great news for the Dawg Nation and now the offense will return all
of the offensive starters next year except two; receivers Marlon Brown and Tavarres
King.I can’t say the same about the defense,
since most of those guys are graduating or leaving early for the NFL.That includes All American LB, Jarvis Jones
and his opposite side LB in Alec Ogletree.Those guys will be missed as will the rest of the defensive
starters.

This news should put the Dawgs in the top 10 in the preseason polls for next
season.But that is not always a good
thing, Georgia was ranked #1 in the preseason polls 4 years ago and didn’t even
make it to the SEC Championship game!

Anyway, I think that is a smart decision Aaron and I can’t wait for next
season!

Friday, December 21, 2012

Well, I feel for it!I thought that
the world was going to end since the Mayan calendar ran out on 12/21/12.I was fully prepared to face fire and
brimstone on Friday morning but instead I just had to face the same old traffic
on the roads.I can’t believe I fell for
it!I didn’t do laundry this week and
left dirty dishes in the sink last night!(If you know me personally, then you know what a big deal that is for
me!)Also, I have been putting of my
Christmas shopping since I figured we wouldn't be having Christmas this year. I better get on it!
For those of you who didn’t fall for it, here is a good SNL skit about the
Mayan Calendar to enjoy!